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The Botany of Desire

The Botany of Desire

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Based on the best-selling book by Michael Pollan, this series explores the relationship between humans and plants. It discusses how the apple, the tulip, and the potato have evolved to meet the needs of humans. Sometimes this has been a natural process, and other times humans have manipulated the plants.

A sketch of a man with a hat holding a plant. Caption: Narrator, John Chapman was born in 1774 in massachusetts.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 1
5 minutes 23 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Apples hang from an apple tree. Caption: This, scientists say, is the apple's genetic home.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 2
1 minutes 28 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
A vast agricultural land with varieties of plants laid in strips. Caption: It's a botanical version of Noah's Ark.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 3
1 minutes 31 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Green Apples hang from an apple tree. Caption: Pero tan solo observar la diversidad de esas manzanas.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 4
2 minutes 54 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
A poster for Washington state apples displays apples with a caption apple a day. Only the finest. Caption: an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 5
2 minutes 51 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
A hamlet in a Peruvian Valley. Caption: the potato plant around 8,000 years ago.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 6
2 minutes 46 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
A farmer carries a small pouch in his field. Caption: Heath farms without using toxic chemicals.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 7
3 minutes 27 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Red earthworms. Caption: are more likely to develop resistance.
The Botany of Desire
Episode 8
9 minutes 29 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
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Major funding provided by the Department of Education